Overview:• The study by Monash University and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health found rates of Parkinson’s disease were between 34 and 78 per cent higher than average in Buloke, Horsham, Northern Grampians and Yarriambiack.

• The Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney and Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science are planning to establish a joint centre for research in cellular genomics. The Centre, which will be known as the Garvan-Weizmann Centre for Cellular Genomics, will be housed in The Kinghorn Cancer Centre in Sydney.

• Breast cancer survivor Rachelle Panitz first is one of 13 Australian cancer survivors being photographed for a calendar to raise money for National Breast Cancer Foundation.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 12th of April 2016. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News

Researchers who found a cluster of Parkinson’s disease cases in Victoria’s north-west say there needs to be an investigation into a possible link to pesticides used by farmers.

The study by Monash University and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health found rates of Parkinson’s disease were between 34 and 78 per cent higher than average in Buloke, Horsham, Northern Grampians and Yarriambiack.

The areas were exceptions to the rule that Parkinson’s does not differ between urban and rural locations, the researchers said.

Barley and pulses — chickpeas, broad beans, lentils and vetches — are farmed in the four regions.

The researchers said further study was needed to investigate a possible link between those farming practices and the risk of Parkinson’s.

Professor Ashley Bush said other studies had reported a greater risk of Parkinson’s in rural areas.

The research was released as part of InSearch: Parkinson’s Research series.

Media Release: 08 April 2016

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney and Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science are planning to establish a joint centre for research in cellular genomics. The Centre, which will be known as the Garvan-Weizmann Centre for Cellular Genomics, will be housed in The Kinghorn Cancer Centre in Sydney.

The Centre will be Australia’s only multidisciplinary facility for cellular genomics – the study of the molecular genetic states of thousands of individual cells. The mission of the Centre will be to help researchers to develop a detailed understanding of how the genomes and gene expression programs of individual cells in the brain, the immune system and other organs change over the course of a lifetime, how cancers, autoimmune diseases, dementia and other conditions develop, and how to design new strategies for prevention and treatment.

The Weizmann Institute of Science has outstanding expertise in single-cell genomics and in other key emerging technologies; Garvan is a leader in the analysis of cancer genomes and their behaviour and is at the forefront of genome sequencing in Australia. Together, researchers from the two institutes hope to create synergistic research platforms to advance the field. In addition, the Centre’s establishment will form the foundation for a broad and enduring partnership between Garvan and the Weizmann Institute.

Plans for the Centre were announced … by New South Wales Premier Mike Baird, who is on an official visit to Israel.